Concord, North Carolina - City Development Fees
City of Concord | Cabarrus County (county seat) | Charlotte metro northeast | I-85 / US-29 corridor
Concord is the county seat of Cabarrus County and one of the largest cities in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro, on the I-85 / US-29 corridor northeast of Charlotte. The dominant development charge in Concord is the water and sewer System Development Fee. Concord owns and operates its own water and wastewater systems, so it levies these System Development Fees directly under NCGS Chapter 162A, Article 8, along with the physical meter and installation fees, rather than through a county or regional authority. The City also administers a schedule of Conditional District, rezoning, special use permit, variance, subdivision, and annexation review fees through its Planning & Development Services and Engineering divisions. North Carolina does not authorize local impact fees (the System Development Fee replaces them) or Virginia-style cash proffers. All amounts below are drawn from the City of Concord FY 2027 Adopted Fee Schedule, adopted July 9, 2026 and effective for FY 2027. Verify current amounts with the City of Concord before relying on them.
On this page
Fee Summary
| Fee Type | Status | Top-Line Figure | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility Tap Fees (NCGS 162A System Development Fees + meter and installation fees, by meter size) | Confirmed | Single-family water System Development Fee $1,632 per ERU + sewer $1,159 per ERU; non-residential scales by meter size to $288,262 water / $204,714 sewer at 12-inch; plus 5/8-inch meter $264 + water install $1,134 + sewer install $1,000 | FY 2027 (adopted 2026-07-09); NCGS 162A System Development Fees |
| Zoning and Development Review Fees | Confirmed | Conditional District $1,000; Rezoning / Amendment to Conditional District $800; Special Use Permit $800; Variance and Appeals $500; Text Amendment $400; acreage-tiered subdivision plat and construction-plan fees; annexation petitions $300 to $1,000 | FY 2027 (adopted 2026-07-09) |
| Impact Fees | Not administered | North Carolina repealed local impact-fee authority; S.L. 2017-138 replaced water and sewer impact fees with the meter-based System Development Fees shown above (NCGS Ch. 162A Art. 8), captured under utility tap fees | - |
| Special District Fees | Not administered | North Carolina municipal service districts (NCGS 160A Art. 23) are funded by a district property-tax levy, not a developer application fee; Concord is a full-service own-utility city and publishes no special-district developer fee | - |
| Proffers | Not applicable | North Carolina does not use Virginia-style cash proffers; NC conditional zoning is governed by NCGS 160D-703 | - |
Water and Sewer System Development Fees
Source: City of Concord FY 2027 Adopted Fee Schedule, Water & Wastewater Utilities section (Water Connection Charges pp. 57-58, Wastewater Connection Charges p. 60), effective FY 2027. This is the highest-value block on the page for a developer. Concord owns and operates its water and wastewater systems, so it recovers water and sewer capacity through North Carolina General Statutes Section 162A-205 System Development Fees, not through an impact fee, and it also charges the physical meter and installation fees directly. Water and sewer are charged separately. Residential System Development Fees are stated per Equivalent Runoff Unit (ERU); non-residential System Development Fees scale by meter size.
Residential System Development Fees (per Equivalent Runoff Unit)
| Customer | Water SDF | Sewer SDF |
|---|---|---|
| Single-Family (per ERU) | $1,632.00 | $1,159.00 |
| Multi-Family (per ERU) | $1,088.00 | $662.00 |
A standard single-family connection pays a water System Development Fee of $1,632 plus a sewer System Development Fee of $1,159 per Equivalent Runoff Unit. A residential unit includes each separately owned or leased dwelling (each single-family home, each apartment, each duplex unit).
Non-residential System Development Fees by meter size (water and sewer charged separately)
| Meter Size | Water SDF | Sewer SDF |
|---|---|---|
| 5/8 inch | $1,632.00 | $1,159.00 |
| 1 inch | $2,719.00 | $1,931.00 |
| 2 inch | $8,702.00 | $6,180.00 |
| 4 inch | $27,195.00 | $19,313.00 |
| 6 inch | $54,389.00 | $39,625.00 |
| 8 inch | $87,023.00 | $61,801.00 |
| 10 inch | $228,434.00 | $162,227.00 |
| 12 inch | $288,262.00 | $204,714.00 |
Meter and installation fees
| Meter Size | Meter Fee | Water Installation |
|---|---|---|
| 5/8 inch | $264.00 | $1,134.00 |
| 1 inch | $395.00 | $1,261.00 |
| 2 inch | $855.00 | $1,865.00 |
| Greater than 2 inch | At cost + $105 AMI fee | At cost |
Sewer installation fees are charged separately: 4-inch sewer service $1,000 per installation, 6-inch sewer service $1,800 per installation. Fee authority: City of Concord Water Resources / Concord Utilities. System Development Fees are governed by NCGS Chapter 162A, Article 8 (the Public Water and Sewer System Development Fee Act). Meters larger than 2 inches are installed at cost. Concord also owns an electric utility; electric rate schedules are outside ZoneFee's development-fee scope.
Zoning and Development Review Fees
Source: City of Concord FY 2027 Adopted Fee Schedule, Planning & Development Services section (pp. 36-38) and Engineering section (pp. 25-27), effective FY 2027.
Zoning, rezoning, and land use petitions
| Application Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Conditional District | $1,000.00 |
| Rezoning / Amendment to Conditional District | $800.00 |
| Second Rezoning / Amendment in less than 12 months | $800.00 |
| Special Use Permit | $800.00 |
| New Wireless Tower (Special Use Permit) | $600.00 |
| Land Use Plan Amendment | $400.00 |
| Text Amendment | $400.00 |
| Vested Rights Certification | $400.00 |
| Historic District Map Amendment | $350.00 |
Variances, appeals, and historic review
| Application Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Variance and Appeals | $500.00 |
| Appeal from a Final Order, Decision, or Interpretation | $500.00 |
| Appeal from a Code Enforcement Decision | $50.00 |
| Certificate of Appropriateness | $40.00 |
| After-the-Fact Certificate of Appropriateness | $120.00 |
Annexation and street closing
| Application Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Voluntary Annexation Petition - less than 3 acres | $300.00 + ad fees |
| Voluntary Annexation Petition - 3 to 5 acres | $400.00 + ad fees |
| Voluntary Annexation Petition - over 5 and less than 9 acres | $500.00 + ad fees |
| Voluntary Annexation Petition - 10 or more acres | $1,000.00 + ad fees |
| Street / Alley / Right-of-Way Closing | $750.00 + ad fees |
Subdivision and engineering review
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Preliminary Plat (new) - under 2 acres | $100.00 |
| Preliminary Plat (new) - 2 to 10 acres | $200.00 |
| Preliminary Plat (new) - 10 to 25 acres | $300.00 |
| Preliminary Plat (new) - over 25 acres | $400.00 |
| Construction Plans - under 2 acres | $175.00 |
| Construction Plans - 2 to 10 acres | $400.00 |
| Construction Plans - 10 to 25 acres | $500.00 |
| Construction Plans - over 25 acres | $500.00 + $50.00/acre |
| Final Plat Review - under 2 acres | $80.00 |
| Final Plat Review - 2 to 10 acres | $125.00 |
| Final Plat Review - 10 to 25 acres | $200.00 |
| Final Plat Review - over 25 acres | $300.00 |
| Water Permit Application Review | $250.00 |
| Wastewater Permit Application Review | $550.00 |
Fee authority: City of Concord Planning & Development Services and Engineering. The Water and Wastewater Permit Application Review fees are plan-review fees, not capacity System Development Fees.
Coverage Notes - What This Page Does Not Cover
Per ZoneFee's Partial-Verified Publication Standard, the items below were either closed by official-source review as not administered, or deferred to the cited source rather than estimated or omitted silently. These items remain under limited-coverage review until these gaps are closed.
Impact Fees
North Carolina municipalities lack general development-impact-fee authority. After Quality Built Homes v. Town of Carthage (368 N.C. 909, 2016) struck municipal water and sewer impact fees, the General Assembly enacted the System Development Fee statute (NCGS 162A-200 et seq., S.L. 2017-138) as the exclusive water and sewer growth-cost mechanism. Concord recovers growth capacity cost through its NCGS 162A System Development Fees, captured above under utility tap fees, and a Stormwater Services utility fee; it levies no transportation, recreation, parks, or school impact fee. Closed-search outcome: this fee family is not administered by this jurisdiction as a distinct impact fee.
Special District Fees
Concord is a full-service, own-utility North Carolina city and publishes no per-application special-district developer fee. North Carolina municipal service districts (NCGS Chapter 160A, Article 23) are established by council resolution and funded by a district property-tax levy, not a developer application fee, and the Colorado Title 32 metropolitan-district model does not exist in North Carolina. The Stormwater Services charge is a recurring utility fee, not a development special-district fee. Closed-search outcome: this fee family is not administered by this jurisdiction.
Proffers
North Carolina does not use Virginia-style cash proffers. Cash proffers are a Virginia and Maryland conditional-zoning instrument (Virginia Code Section 15.2-2303.4) with no North Carolina counterpart; NC conditional zoning is governed by NCGS Section 160D-703 and does not support that kind of monetary exaction. Closed-search outcome: this fee family does not apply to this jurisdiction.
Fee Authorities
| Authority | Fee Types | Official Website |
|---|---|---|
| City of Concord - Planning & Development Services and Engineering | Conditional District, rezoning, special use permit, text amendment, vested rights, variance and appeals, historic review, annexation, subdivision plat and construction-plan review, and water / wastewater permit application review fees | concordnc.gov |
| City of Concord Water Resources - Concord Utilities | Water and sewer System Development Fees (NCGS 162A) and meter and installation fees by meter size | concordnc.gov |
Sources
| Document | Agency | Accessed |
|---|---|---|
| City of Concord FY 2027 Adopted Fee Schedule (all departments; Planning & Development Services, Engineering, and Water & Wastewater Utilities System Development, meter, and installation fees, 63 pp; adopted July 9, 2026) | City of Concord Finance | 2026-08-07 |
Last verified by ZoneFee: 2026-08-07. Fee schedules are subject to change. Verify current rates directly with the City of Concord Planning & Development Services, Engineering, or Water Resources (Concord Utilities) before relying on this data for any financial decision.
This page reflects fee data sourced from the City of Concord FY 2027 Adopted Fee Schedule (all departments), adopted July 9, 2026 and effective for FY 2027, as of the last-verified date above. ZoneFee does not guarantee that fee amounts are current at the time you read this page. Fee schedules change. Water and sewer System Development Fees, meter fees, and installation fees are charged separately and vary by customer class and meter size, so the totals shown apply only to the stated configurations. North Carolina charges no local impact fee and no Virginia-style cash proffer, and Concord publishes no per-application special-district fee. Verify all current rates directly with the City of Concord before relying on this data for land acquisition, project budgeting, or any financial decision. This page is for research and due-diligence reference only - it is not legal or financial advice.